we have an islabikes beinn 26 small. I have put 2.1 conti explorers on it (they are what would fit, anything fatter doesn’t fit the frame), and the LBS have changed the front to a triple short-arm crank, which means he can get up the evil hills (which he couldn’t with the 32 chainring it came with) he is using it as an MTB to ride XC with me in our local woods (woburn, beds).

I am thinking about the next bike, the next isla is the beinn 26L (target age 10 – he is 9.5 currently) however this is not an MTB just a bigger kids bike, by the time I’ve bought that, changed the crank and tyres and put a suspension front fork on it I might as well have bought something else. Isla used to do the creig 26 MTB but its not currently for sale (I pinged them an email, its being redesigned apparently) and I always disliked one part of it which was the single chainring on the front (would very much prefer a double, this bike has to have the range from 1 in 6 hills to flat/downhill canal path fast riding, I have Nplus1 bikes but not doing that yet for the boy…).

so I am researching the alternatives. Giant my usual haunt (LBS) have gone all 27.5. I don’t want to put a 10yo on a 27.5 it will be way oversized, so I am looking around at who is still doing 26″HT in the smaller frame sizes. there seem to be very few that have a good spec XC hardtail (hydraulic disks, x9 or x10, nice fork, light) . so far I have come up with

Kona fire mountain XS 26, orbea mx 26 (current in 2016 models)
specialised hardrock 26 disk, (2015 models, 2016 seems to be 27.5)

anyone got any other suggestions? I seem to have run out .

am I missing something? the mass manufacturers all seem to go from 24 kids bikes to 27.5, missing out 26..come back 26 we miss you.
(and I as a 6ft 15st male still riding my 2009 26er trance and love the manoeverability no need for 29 in my book)

ta
Ian

Few ideas here – Cube working out great for us, not sure if you can still get the frame though!
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/wheelsize-rant-children

thanks LD. on more research I have also found the felt six series (although no physical stockist that I can find) and the ghost sonas (stocked by go outdoors milton keynes, awaiting the 2016 range). the whyte 401/405 is too pricey, I think I could go to 600+ (what the creig used to sell for) but not nearly a grand.

read your thread with interest – what did you go for in the end? I haven’t got the expertise to specify all the components or do the self build so if going that way it would have to be get the LBS to do it. I don’t have a garage full of spares I can borrow either, just tyres.

Is there anyone out there able to come up with a “recipe” for this kind of bike? there is a market clearly.

We ended up with a Decathlon Rockrider 8.1, but I can’t see it on their site at the moment.
Basically, I was looking for the lowest price bike that came with decent forks. They came with coil Recons and I fitted the soft spring for another £35 making the total £485.

Their small is pretty small.

Genesis make the Core 26 which is a great kids proper MTB. Rigid forks, but suspension compatible if you want to add a lightweight 26″ sus fork. 1×9 but you could make it 2x or 3x if you wanted to.

Bike I went for is pictured at the end of the thread. Cube Attention frame xs with 1×10 set up, mavic crossone wheels and RS TK30 gold air fork. Came in at just under 12kg and he’s loving it!

I’d suggest a 14″ On One – short stem and in line post should fit if he’s average height.

My lad – not known for his sporting ability, to be fair – rode the blue at Kirroughtree on a Rockrider 5.1, their most basic hardtail. It’s an exta small, got it when he was 10, was a bit big to be fair, but surprised both of us with how well he has got on with it.

and I always disliked one part of it which was the single chainring on the front (would very much prefer a double, this bike has to have the range from 1 in 6 hills to flat/downhill canal path fast riding

If you manage to sort out the other problems/concerns with the Islabike (like the fact that they don’t sell them anymore :evil:) then the following may be slightly relevant:

We’ve got the Creig 24 and the gear range is excellent. It’s got a noticably lower gear than the Bheinn 20 that his brother uses. He can spin his way up most things. Full 10 speed. To be fair he doesn’t use the top gear much but the low end is great.

<<<grumble grumble blood Islabikes, how am I supposed to sell the damn thing secondhand if they’ve stopped making them grumble>>

I’m going the build an Inbred then swap the frame out as he grows route.

Im just about to sort out the “last” kids bike for Jr (8 3/4 yr old) before moving on to his mother’s small 456 next year. I reckon he can carry a 24″ until he’s ready for the 456. Will initially put a fairly low a-c (4″ stylee) rigids on the 456 with short stem and then move to a light sus fork.

I’m tempted to get my 11 year old nephew an On-One Fun Fatty (the 24″ one), just not sure how usable it would be for him off-road (climbs especially). 15kg is a lot but his current bike probably weighs close to that, I figure it would last longer than just getting an XS 26″ MTB

I scored a 13″ rockhopper frame (late 1990’s steel) so I’m building that up.

My 10 year old has just moved up to a 13″ Inbred frame and is loving the 26″ wheels.

Acquired an ex hire Ghost 26in, small frame for eldest grand daughter, a tall 10. Disc brakes & RS forks. She had been riding MrsTs small Myka.

Orbea MX26 Team pretty good for our 9 year old apart from the wheels (heavy) – had a set of old Bontrager 26″ wheels that are about half the weight.

I was having a good look at the orbea mx team.. went to 21C in stony stratford (orbea nearest dealer) but they are a 100% road shop, not even vaguely interested in getting one in for a look it was strictly special order. I don’t want to buy anything I can’t see / sit him on without a backout option.

i’ve just spent 30 mins drooling over a decathlon/btwin rafal740 , some very nice kit on it – 11.5kg and on sale at £650 as its only available in small 😀 . does anyone know what the geometry / size specs are on their small (standover etc). anyone got one? It says its XC oriented which being fair is 99% of what we do (woburn woods) we are not DH’ers. Never bought from decathlon, if you go click and collect can you check it fits before you walk out (and walk away if not?

I , bought a rockhopper 13″ frame from here and built it up with sids, 1×10 narrow wide and zee mech, its brilliant , under 10kg and my kid loves it

thanks for all the “I built starting from xx” posts but I don’t have enough knowledge to spec all the bits for a build, nor the skills/time to actually do it (would have to get LBS to do it). so unless someone has a complete menu of bits I could give to the LBS, it needs to be a complete bike purchasable from a shop (maybe with some component upgrades afterwards)

my shortlist is now
felt six60
orbea mx26
merida matts 6.40D (need to get from germany!)
kona fire mountain
btwin/decathlon rockrider / rafal

struggling to find any damn shop that actually has anything to look at (lots of people list online but they are just links to the mfr stock)